Minister subpoenaed over Motsoeneng appointment

Johannesburg - Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has
subpoenaed Communications Minister Faith Muthambi as part of her investigation
into the permanent appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as SABC COO, her office
said on Wednesday.

"The public protector wrote to the minister last
month requesting a meeting and the minister responded by saying that as the
matter is a subject of an ongoing court process, she was not going to avail
herself for a meeting with the public protector, spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi
said.

"The public protector decided to subpoena the
minister because attempts to persuade her to meet have been ignored by the
minister."

In February, Madonsela released a report on Motsoeneng,
while he was acting chief operations officer.

She found that his salary increased from R1.5m to R2.4m
in one year, that he had purged senior staff, and misrepresented his
qualifications - that he had passed matric - to the SABC.

At the time, Madonsela recommended that a new COO be
appointed to the SABC within 90 days.

In early July, Muthambi announced Motsoeneng's
appointment, saying the decision was taken following a recommendation by the
SABC board.

She said he was cleared of all wrongdoing by a legal firm
before being appointed permanently.

At the time, the DA launched a high court bid to have the
appointment set aside.